New Jersey mom abandons her special needs child in the woods with no food and just a small bag of luggage: Police

New Jersey police have arrested a Milville Township woman and charged her with child endangerment after she allegedly abandoned her 10-year-old special needs child in the woods, CBS News has reported.

Authorities say Debra Wisler, 39, dropped her young son in a wooded area near a military facility called Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. She is alleged to have simply left him there with only a small bag of luggage to his name.

A motorist found the boy and said that he was injured, scared and hungry, as reported by state police. The good samaritan motorist contacted the military base and the 10-year-old was brought to the visitor center, where he was given food and water and looked after by the base’s medical staff.

Why would she allegedly do such a thing? Detectives think Wisler was distraught that her son was not eligible for a child program at the military base and her solution was to abandon him to the elements.

Barbara Todd, the boy’s teacher’s aide in kindergarten and first grade, spoke to reporters and noted that these alleged actions seem out of character for the 39-year-old mom.

“He was her life, and I just can’t believe it,” she said. “She got him involved in anything that she could, and all services are available to him and her.”

“I can’t even talk, I’m just still so shocked.”

The Division of Child Protection and Permanency was contacted and they were able locate a temporary home for the 10-year-old, according to The Daily Journal.

Wisler was released after processing pending a hearing in Burlington County Superior Court.